Searching for Grace
by Rae Solo
Summary: "My young flower, I am afraid that your home is no more."
1. End and Beginning

**Okay, this is a little bit different for me. I'm working on a series of connected one-shots. They portray events in the life of my character, OC, after she loses her heart. This first scene takes place near the end of KH 1, right after Sora and crew reach Hollow Bastion, just to let you all know what happens to turn Mirage into a Nobody.**

**I don't know how often I'll update this, but I do have a few chapters in the works , and a warning; this story may be a bit dark at times, and will probably contain spoilers for all KH games except possibly BBS. I haven't played that one yet.  
**

**Now, on with the story!  
**

_Moving through the halls of Hollow Bastion, Mirage was trying to decide what to do when she suddenly saw a Heartless._

_It ran around a corner and as she followed it, she entered a room full of them._

_They saw her at the same time, and charged at her._

_"Why is it never easy?" She mumbled, drawing her swords._

_Running back down the hall she had come through, she tried to find a more open place to fight. She knew she wouldn't be able to fight effectively in a small, cramped space like the one she found them in. She didn't want the Sora and the others to get hurt in the fight, so she tried to lure the Heartless away from the main hall._

_Deciding that it would be best to lure them away from the castle altogether, Mirage headed for the main gate._

_Once she neared the Great Falls, she prepared to fight. She sliced her way through a large number of them, but more kept coming._

_"How many of you are there?" She cried._

_She knew that fighting at the falls was not a good idea, but also knew that there was an acceptable fighting arena under the falls._

_ All it required was a long jump to the bottom. There was a wide-open space after the jump, and Mirage grinned._

_"Okay, now we're on my playing field."_

_As two Heartless jumped forward to attack her, Mirage rolled to the side to avoid them, then got to her feet again, and leapt into the crowd. She swung her swords in a low but wide circle, taking out several enemies, then jumped and planted her right foot on the ledge of the nearest rock wall._

_Then she pushed off the wall and into a back flip, taking out a Neo-Shadow before falling to the ground below. She landed on her feet, crouched in a defensive stance, ready to strike as the swarm followed her without hesitation. _

_The ensuing battle was interrupted, however, as a gunshot rang out, and the resulting blast took out a line of Heartless. Apparently, someone had been near the falls, and saw Mirage fall, and followed her. As Mirage glanced over at the new arrival, she gasped._

_"Leon? Everyone! What are you doing here?"_

_Coming to her aid were Leon, Aerith, and Yuffie._

_As Leon approached he fired his gun again, taking out another line of Heartless. Then he swung his sword at one that had decided he was a better target than Mirage, who was busily slashing at two Neo-Shadows._

_Yuffie charged right into the fray, slashing and zipping around like a true ninja._

_Aerith stayed behind the others, healing when necessary and occasionally taking out a Heartless when it came too close._

_Suddenly, Mirage cried out, causing Leon to look up in concern. What he saw startled him; one of the Neo-Shadows had its arm embedded in Mirage's chest, right over her heart._

_"Mirage!"_

_It twisted its arm violently, causing Mirage to cry out again, and then pushed her to the ground._

_The Neo-Shadow seemed to be searching for something, and there was a definite look of determination etched on its face. She_ _tried to bring her sword up into the Neo-Shadow's chest, but failed. After a moment it seemed to find what it was looking for, and wrenched its arm out of her body, which then started to slowly fade._

_"Mirage! No!" Leon shouted, running to her side._

_Yuffie and Aerith followed, each screaming Mirage's name. They didn't make it in time, however, and she faded in a strange mix of shadows and light. _

**0~0~0~0~0~0**

"Is someone out there? Hello? I need help…" A young woman cried, but her voice was drowned out by the rain pouring down.

She was in a forest, but didn't know how she got there, and couldn't remember anything about what she was doing before she found herself in the rain in the middle of the night.

She slowly started walking, hoping against hope that someone would be out at that late hour.

When she reached the end of the forest she found that a town lay beyond it, and quickly began to look around, searching for any signs of life. After a few minutes, she found someone; a tall figure with pink hair, wearing a black cloak and carrying a large scythe.

"Excuse me, can you help me? I'm lost. I don't know where I am, and I have no idea how to get home. Please, can you help me?" She called out, and the figure turned.

Seeing the form from behind, the she had expected it to be a woman, with the pink hair. But as she saw its face she realized that it was a man, a man with soft, almost elegant features. When he saw her he smiled gently, and after a moment he spoke.

"You say you are lost? What is your name?" He asked, his voice as soft and elegant as his face.

"My name…? I-it's Mirage."

"Mirage… a lovely name for such a delicate flower. I am Marluxia. Now, if you will come with me, I will show you to your new home." He said, and turned to lead her away.

"New home? I don't want a new home, I want my old one." Mirage protested, taking a step back.

"My young flower, I am afraid that your home is no more."

"What? What do you mean?"

"Do you know what the Heartless are?" Marluxia asked, and Mirage paused to think.

"Heartless… they attacked me. In Hollow Bastion… I tried to fight them off, but there were too many, and one of them…! Wait! That one… what did it do to me…?" She trailed off, hardly remembering Marluxia's presence.

"It stole your heart." Marluxia answered, and Mirage looked up sharply.

"What are you talking about? If it took my heart I wouldn't be alive. No human can exist without their heart."

"Perhaps not, but you are no longer human. You are a Nobody, just like me."

"Just like you…? What's a Nobody?"

"A Nobody is a shell that is left behind after a human with a strong heart loses that heart. We are only half a person, never truly being whole without the heart from our Somebody."

"Half a person? That is a little hard for me to believe." Mirage scoffed, and Marluxia smiled again, and reached out his hand to take hers.

"Tell me then… what do you feel here?" He asked, placing her hand over her chest, where her heart should be.

"There's… nothing. No heartbeat. But how is that possible?"

Then he took her hand and placed it on his own chest, allowing her to feel his lack of a heartbeat as well.

"No heartbeat." She concluded, leaving her hand on his chest even after he released her.

After a moment she realized what she was doing and pulled away, thankful that the dark night would hide her blush.

"You believe me now?" Marluxia asked, and Mirage looked up.

"It's a lot for me to take in. I don't fully understand it all, but yes, I believe you are telling me the truth. There seems to be no other explanation for everything that's happened. But what do I do now? If I have no home to return to, where do I go?"

"You could come with me. You can aid me in my quest to get my heart back, and in so doing get yours back as well."

"You can get your heart back? How?"

"Come with me, and I will show you."

Then he lifted his hand, and a dark vortex opened. Darkness swirled around in it, wrapping around his arm.

"You can do that too?" Mirage asked, her eyes wide.

"Too? You can summon a corridor?"

"Yeah, since I was a kid."

"Interesting." Marluxia said, studying Mirage for a long moment before leading her into the corridor.

**0~0~0~0~0~0**

_ Journal Entry; Day One_

_When we left the darkness we were in a huge building, which Marluxia called "The Castle That Never Was". I found the name odd. If it 'never was', then how was it now? Anyway, he then took me to see someone named Xemnas, who told me the same thing about regaining hearts that Marluxia had. _

_Then he told me that I was no longer the twenty-three year old Mirage I remembered being, but rather I was now two week old Xirmage. Apparently I had somehow spent two weeks in darkness after losing my heart, before arriving in that town and being found by Marluxia. _

_I still had all the memories of being Mirage though, and he said that most of the Nobody's did retain their memories. I asked how many people there were in this place, this castle, and I was told that I was the fifteenth to join their organization. _

_They call themselves Organization XIII, though they only started with six people. The last two, a boy and girl named Roxas and Xion, joined in the two weeks before I did, each a week apart._

_Each member of Org. XIII has control over an element. Marluxia's is plants, while others are things like water or fire, lightning, illusions or light. Apparently they only gained their abilities after becoming a Nobody, so they were very interested to learn that my Somebody, Mirage, could control darkness._

_The fact that she could meant that I could as well of course, which made my training considerably easier. I didn't have to be taught how to summon a corridor or fight with my shadows—I already knew how._

_These people seem very interested in my development, especially Xemnas and Marluxia. I don't know why, but I feel like I should be careful. Who knows what the future holds?_

**0~0~0~0~0~0**

"Alright, Number Fifteen, tell me what you see." Vexen said to Xirmage.

She wore a long black cloak, like him, but she kept her hood up.

"Are you paying attention? Answer me!" His cold, angry voice seemed to echo inside her head. And he seemed to be shrieking, which made it worse.

"Well, it's a pretty big town, and this seems to be the center of it."

"Is that all? What else?" Vexen said, obviously annoyed.

"This area is paved differently. Like, it could be a road or something." The young woman said next, looking at a brick-paved area.

"Could be? Are you asking me or telling me? Distressing. Very distressing. Your mind just wasn't made for this, was it?" Vexen sighed, studying the cloaked form before him. After a moment he spoke again.

"Well, you're not off the hook yet, girl. If I let you quit with these results, I'll be the laughingstock of the castle. Keep looking."

So the girl moved on.

"The town was built into a mountain. That's why the road slopes."

"Yes. Finally, a glimmer of insight! Go on."

"At the top of the town is the train station. The closed-off underpasses we've seen must be connected to it. There's also a tram system that runs through the plaza." The girl continued, speaking as though automated.

"Good, you're starting to get the hang of it. Follow this path and keep looking."

So they continued on, and passed a dark hole in the Tram Common wall that was blocked off. This caught the girl's attention.

"What's back there? It looks like woods. And there's something behind it." Xirmage said, peering into the darkness.

"We're not investigating that now! Focus on the town." Vexen snapped.

"What's the harm in asking about the woods? It shows that she's aware of her surroundings, more than you gave her credit for." A new voice spoke up as a dark corridor appeared and a man with flaming red hair stepped out.

"What do you want, Number Eight?" Vexen growled.

"Go buy yourself an ice cream or get back to those experiments of yours. I'm taking over the new kid's recon mission today." The newcomer said.

"Oh, really? Did you clear this with Superior?"

"Of course. His answer was, and I quote, 'Hmm... Fine. Go, if that's what suits you.' So here I am." The man replied with a smirk.

With another growl, Vexen turned and opened a dark corridor.

"Very well. I leave you to your puppet." Then he was gone.

"Puppet? What does that mean?" The girl, Xirmage wondered.

"Ah, I wouldn't worry about that." The man casually replied, then looked the girl over.

"Now, I don't believe we've been properly introduced. Name's Axel. And you are...?"

Then the girl pulled the hood of her cloak away from her face, revealing aqua colored hair and large violet eyes.

"Xira."

Axel smirked at the obvious change of the girl's name, but said nothing of it.

"Well, Xira, let's get back to work. You asked about the woods, and what lies beyond them, yeah? You want to go find out?"

"We...we can do that? It's really okay?"

"Well, it wasn't part of our regularly scheduled programming, but sure. Just this once can't hurt, right? It'll broaden your knowledge of this place. Or something like that." Axel shrugged.

Then he opened a dark corridor.

"So, let's go."

But Xirmage, or Xira, hesitated.

"You won't get in trouble, right?"

"With the boss man? How's he gonna find out? I sure ain't telling him. Are you gonna tell him?"

But Xira shook her head emphatically.

"I won't tell."

"Alright then. Besides, it's called being flexible. Got it memorized?"

Then he led her into the corridor. A moment later, the two stepped out in front of a fenced-off mansion.

"Wow..." Xira breathed, taking everything in.

"Yeah, quite a sight, huh? Now, what can you tell me about this place?" Axel said, reminding Xira that they were still on a mission.

"Whoever lived here had a lot of money." She began, reaching out to wrap her fingers around the cold metal bars of the fence.

"'Lived'? As in, used to? How do you know it's empty?"

"Well it's getting late, and dark. If someone did live there, wouldn't there be lights on?"

"What if nobody's home?"

"There has to be someone. Even if only a servant. And in a house that big, there's bound to be servants." Xira stated as though it were obvious.

And Axel laughed.

"Well done. You're really starting to get the hang of this stuff. Good thing I came along, or you'd still be stuck with Vexen and we'd never have learned about your great recon skills. Now come on, let's get back to the rest of our work so we can call it a night."

"Right. Hey, Axel?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."


	2. Learning

**Hey, look at that, an update! Bet you thought I forgot about this little gem, huh? Well, no, but it was collecting dust while I worked on my more pressing and current stories. The truth is, I had a bit of trouble with this chapter. But I got it figured out now. It's pretty short, but since it's a one-shot, I decided that I could live with that. This takes place after Xira's been there for roughly 3-4 weeks, I think. Hope you like it!  
**

_Grabbing. Screaming. Crying. And darkness._

_She was running. She couldn't see where she was going, but she knew she had to get away. If she was found, they would kill her. Or turn her into a Dusk. That would be worse._

_Turning a corner she found a dark alleyway, and ran down it. There was a pile of crates near a broken-down archway, high enough for her to hide behind._

_Slipping behind them, she pressed herself into as small an area as she could, hoping she wouldn't be discovered. She heard footsteps a few moments later. She held her breath as they approached, praying that they wouldn't hear her._

_In that moment she was thankful that she didn't have a heart, for they surely would have heard it beating as they passed._

_Once they were far enough away she released her breath, and moved to stand up. She pushed a hand against the wall behind her to support herself, and discovered that it was wet and sticky when she did so._

_Looking around, she saw that the whole wall was covered in blood, as was the floor and now her clothes._

_"Oh my god…"_

_"Xira?"_

_"What? Marluxia? What are you doing here? And where is here? Can you help me?"_

_But Marluxia didn't answer. And when she looked around she saw that he was nowhere in sight._

_"Marluxia?"_

"Xira, wake up."

Xira's eyes snapped open. She was lying in her bed, tightly gripping the sheets beneath her. Marluxia sat before her on the bed, concern in his deep blue eyes.

"What…? What happened?" Xira whispered.

"A nightmare," Marluxia answered simply, "I was walking past your door when I heard you screaming. Are you alright?"

"Y-yeah, I think so. It… felt so real…"

"Would you like to talk about it? Perhaps that would help to settle your mind." Marluxia suggested, reaching out to push back a lock of her hair.

Xira shook her head, reaching up to rub her tired eyes.

"Are you certain? It may be beneficial to discuss it, so you can clear your mind enough to go back to sleep." Marluxia pressed.

"I… I don't know what they're about. Just images, flashes of people and places I've never seen before."

Marluxia nodded as Xira spoke, rubbing her arms in a soothing motion.

"Has this happened before?"

"A few times." She answered as he pulled her closer. Xira barely realized what he was doing, but he pulled her into his arms and gently pressed a kiss into her hair, rocking her slightly.

She felt safer in his arms, so she didn't protest, but if she had been in her right mind she would have wondered what he was doing.

Later that afternoon, Xira took a walk in one of the castle's many gardens. She had recently seen a new one that she hadn't noticed before, so she headed there now. It was full of unusual flowers she had never seen, in a wild assortment of colors.

She was so focused on admiring them that she didn't see the corridor form a few feet behind her, nor hear the footsteps coming from it.

"I see you found my private garden."

Xira's head snapped up at that voice

"M-Marluxia! I didn't know this was a private garden, I'm sorry, I'll leave right away."

And she turned to do so, until his voice called out to her again.

"I never said you had to leave, Xira. Come, walk with me." He beckoned, and before she could stop herself Xira had taken a hesitant step forward. Then another. And several more, until she was by his side.

Without a word he put an arm around her slender waist and pulled her close, turning to lead her down one of the gardens many winding paths.

The two walked for several minutes in silence. Marluxia appeared calm enough, at least on the outside, but Xira was shaking. Or at least she thought she was, but since Marluxia had said nothing of it she assumed she only shook on the inside.

"Did you know that each flower's color has its own meaning?" Marluxia asked after a few moments.

"No, I didn't."

"They do indeed. Someday I'll teach you all the meanings-there are far too many to go into right now. You have an assignment this evening, correct?"

"Yes, I'm hunting Heartless with Roxas in Twilight Town tonight."

Xira wasn't sure why it was an evening assignment. As far as she knew, assignments were always given out early in the morning. At least, that's how it always was for her.

"So, how are you? Have you gotten settled in?" Marluxia asked, interrupting Xira's thoughts.

"I think so. I still get lost, on occasion, but for the most part I can find my way around."

"Wonderful."

That was it. That was all he said. Wonderful. What the heck was that? She was expecting a little more. Maybe she was expecting too much.

They walked in silence for several minutes until they reached the edge of the garden. Xira stood before the long, winding path leading up to the castle and looked upon the stone structure's many windows. She thought she saw someone staring down at her for a moment, but then it was gone.

She thought she saw red hair. She thought she saw Axel.

But why would he be watching her? He wouldn't, plain and simple. he had no interest in her, other than making sure she did her job and completed her missions. That was all he cared about.

The thought saddened her. She had come to think of him as a close friend. Or at least he would have been a close friend, if he had felt the same.

"Xira, are you alright?" Marluxia's calm voice brought her back to the present, and she nodded. Was that concern in his voice? But no, it couldn't have been. Nobodies didn't experience emotions, remember? Which meant that Xira wasn't really sad, she just remembered what being sad was like, from her Somebody.

"Yes, I'm fine. I was just thinking." She answered, then turned her gaze on him. She studied him a moment before speaking again.

"Marluxia, do you really believe that we don't experience emotions? That we can't feel sadness, joy... love?"

He didn't answer right away. After enough time had passed that she was sure he wouldn't respond, he reached out a hand and placed it under her chin. He stared into her eyes, hard, then suddenly leaned down and pressed his lips to hers.

The kiss didn't last long. It also didn't provoke an emotional response in Xira. She remembered her Someboby, Mirage, kissing Leon, and compared that memory to what she felt now. It was far different. She wasn't angry, but she wasn't happy either. In fact, she was indifferent.

But what if that was her own fault? Maybe she was supposed to feel something, and she was doing it wrong? After all, she had never kissed someone before.

Before Marluxia could pull away, Xira wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back fiercely. She didn't close her eyes, choosing instead to study his as she did so. He seemed surprised, but didn't pull away or reprimand her. He put an arm around her waist and pulled her closer, deepening the kiss. She could feel his tongue pressing against her lips, but instead of complying with his request, she pulled back.

He released her immediately, staring down at her as she looked away.

"I-I'm sorry," She whispered, her voice shaky.

"There is no need to apologize, my young flower. I do hope that answered your question. Now if you'll excuse me, there are other matters which require my attention."

And with that he was gone.


	3. Meeting Demyx

**Chapter Three-Meeting Demyx **

Xira was tired.

She and Roxas had just returned from their mission to Twilight Town, and it was more difficult than she would have expected. The Heartless they were hunting was not easy to find, and they had ended up running all over town.

They also had to be careful not to be seen by any of the town's residents, which in some ways was more challenging than the hunting had been.

After reporting to Saix Xira headed to her room, a few doors down from the library. As she passed the library she thought she heard music playing. When she stopped to listen it faded, but after a few moments it started up again.

It was a somewhat slow melody, played by a sitar.

Though it sounded quite different played by the sitar, Xira knew the song well, and without realizing it she began to sing quietly.

"Feels like I've known you for so long, but there's always something wrong  
I could never understand, what this feeling was.  
Searching for its meaning, I went through everything…  
Every piece of shattered glass, and then I realized…

When I saw you, for the first time  
Washed up on the shore and lost  
I knew that I had found someone I could call my own…"

Somewhere along the way, Xira's voice had gotten louder, and she had stepped into the library to see a young man with a dusty blonde mullet sitting on the couch and gently strumming the sitar. He watched her as she came closer, and when she realized it she stopped, but he simply smiled and nodded, encouraging her to continue.

"And from then on, nothing could stop us  
The friendship we had, I will never trade for anything  
And from here on, we will always shine as one  
We are stronger, stronger than the brightest star out there!

It's because I know that I can reach to you anytime…  
So at the end of the day; 'See you later...'"

"That was great!" The man said when she finished, standing and laying his sitar aside.

"Oh, thanks. I didn't mean to interrupt you, really. I just couldn't help it. That song's one of my favorites. Or maybe I should say, it was one of my Somebody's favorites."

"Really? Mine too! I'm Demyx, by the way. You're Xirmage, aren't you? This is the first time I've seen you without your hood up."

"Uh, it's just Xira, actually. I really don't like Xirmage all that well."

Demyx studied Xira for a moment, then grinned.

"Xira, huh? I like it! So, Xira, you know any other songs?"

"Only like a million of 'em! I love music!"

"Great! We'll have to get together sometime and go over some songs. I wonder what kinds you know that I don't. You're from Radiant Garden, right? What kind of music do they have there?"

"Radiant Garden…? Oh, right, that's what they called Hollow Bastion before it was destroyed. I don't really know what the differences are between music from Hollow Bastion and other worlds. But I do know a lot of songs from Mirage's time there."

"Mirage? Is that your Somebody?"

"Yeah, Mirage Tiel. Hey, what was your Somebody like?"

Demyx hesitated for a moment, and Xira was afraid he wouldn't answer. Very few of the Organization members liked talking about their Somebodies, actually.

Xira had learned that Xigbar was a castle guard in his home world, wherever that was, and that Saix and Axel's Somebodies knew each other, but that was all she could find out. She was the only one who liked talking about her "former life".

"My Somebody was named Myde. He lived in Atlantica." Demyx offered finally.

"Atlantica? I've never been there. What's it like?"

"You've never been there? Well, it's a water world, full of mermaids and fish. You have to swim to get around."

"Really? That sounds so cool! I'd love to see it. I wonder if I could get Saix to give me a mission there…" Xira trailed off, and Demyx just shrugged.

"I dunno, you'd be better off going there on a day off."

"Day off? You get days off? Man, I've been sent on missions every day since I joined! Maybe I'll just go after a mission, before RTC-ing."

"RTC-ing?"

"Yeah, "Returning To the Castle. RTC. Axel said it on our first mission, and I guess I picked it up."

"Axel said what now?" Came a voice from the doorway as said pyro entered the room.

"RTC. Demyx didn't know what it meant."

"Oh. So, how'd your mission go?"

"Fine. Just kinda tiring." Xira shrugged, then changed the subject.

"Hey, Axel, you ever been to Atlantica?"

"Once, a long time ago. And I'm never going back."

"He's a fire master, Xira. Fire and water don't exactly mix, you know." Demyx supplied.

"Oh, right! I didn't think about that."

"Hey, what's your element, Xira?"

"What, you don't know that either? It's darkness. Look, I'll show you." With a wave of her hand, Xira summoned shadows in the form of herself, Demyx and Axel.

"Wow, that's so cool! Can you do that for anyone?"

"Yeah, I can create shadows of anyone I come across. Like this." Then she created shadows of Sora, Riku, Kairi and a girl Demyx and Axel didn't recognize.

"Who's that?"

"Hmm? Oh, that's Abbey. She's my Somebody's sister. She lived in Hollow Bastion with Leon and the others before it was destroyed." Xira said, then looked at the clock.

"Oh, I better go. I have training with Larxene in the morning, and she wants me there at 5 o'clock. See ya later Demyx, Axel."

0~0~0~0~0~0

"Agh!"

Xira dove to the side, but was unable to miss the kunai flying at her. They dug into her side, leaving a trailed of torn skin and blood in their wake. Pain ripped through her body, burning like fire. Each heartbeat made it worse. It stung. It throbbed.

"I told you to pay attention! Ugh, you never learn!"

Xira just growled lowly, whispering the incantation for a healing spell. Before she even finished Larxene was on top of her, slashing at her arms and torso.

"Hey!" Xira protested, raising her sword to block the onslaught.

"What, you thought I'd go easy on you just because you got a little scrape?" Larxene mocked, slashing at her maniacally.

"You think an enemy is gonna give you time to heal yourself? Not a chance. They're gonna come at you with everything they've got, and they're not gonna stop until one of you is dead. Got that?"

"Yeah, Larxene, I got it." Xira snapped, rolling to the side and thrusting her sword into the blonde's torso. Larxene recoiled, hissing in pain. Jumping back to get out of range of Xira's attacks, she ran to the door where she left a bag of supplies, digging through it for a healing potion.

Her fingers grasped the cool glass of the bottle she sought, and she retracted her hand from the small leather satchel. She quickly twisted the cap off and raised the bottle to her lips, but she barely tasted even a drop of the healing liquid before it was suddenly slapped away.

The bottle hit the wall and shattered, glass and bright green liquid flying everywhere.

"You think an enemy is gonna give you time to heal yourself? Not a chance. They're gonna come at you with everything they've got, and they're not gonna stop until one of you is dead. Got that?" Xira said, throwing Larxene's words back at her.

"Nicely done." Axel said, entering the room.

Xira grinned, keeping one eye on Larxene as she retrieved another potion.

"You're cleaning that up, you know."

"I can deal with that."

"It was probably worth it to get a shot at you." Axel put in.

Xira agreed, though she didn't say so. Instead she turned away to retrieve her towel, wiping sweat off her forehead.

"Hey, who said training was over?"

"We've been at this for three hours. I've got a mission in forty minutes. I have to go."

"Fine. Meet me back here tomorrow morning."

"Tomorrow morning I'll be sleeping until my mission. Saix said he had a special one planned for me. Which, knowing him, probably means a medieval torture chamber. I'll see you guys later."

0~0~0~0~0

_Journal Entry; Day twenty-six_

_My mission today was to Agrabah. Roxas was sent with me again, and we were supposed to collect hearts. It still feels weird to say that—collect hearts. We're killing Heartless to do this, and it just feels… well, weird. I don't know, maybe I'm just weird. Mirage never thought about things like this._

_When I RTC-ed, Saix told me that my mission tomorrow was with Axel. Apparently we're going to Hollow Bastion. I'm not sure how I feel about that. What if I run into someone I used to know? They won't recognize me! _

_Will they think I'm their enemy? We're both working toward the same goal, so maybe we can work together. _

_But if I really believe that, why am I so hesitant? _

**I don't own the song. It's the property of the creators of Steambot Chronicles, an rpg for the PS2.**

**On a side note, I'm thinking of working on Fallen from Grace, this story's prequel, again. What do you guys think? Should I finish it? Or just let it continue collecting dust?  
**


End file.
